The present invention relates to a decorative oxidation process and article. More particularly, the invention is directed to methods for making decorative articles by selectively oxidizing metal to produce color changes, and resulting decorative articles having color patterns characteristic of various stages of metal oxidation.
Artwork and decorative articles employing natural earth colors, including oranges, browns, yellows and reds are currently very popular. Such artwork includes both abstract art and simulated primitive art. Such art attempts to use natural materials in order to obtain the natural earth colors.
It is known to make use of natural processes to produce artwork having earth colors. For example, metal sculptures have been made in which the outer surface has been allowed to oxidize in order to produce a desired color effect. An example of this is the large Oldenburg "Clothespin" sculpture in Philadelphia which is made of "COR-TEN" steel which has been allowed to oxidize (rust) to produce an organish-brown color.
However, the use of such natural processes is time consuming, non-reproducible, and does not usually lend itself to mass production. It would therefore be desirable to have a process for producing artwork or decorative articles having earth colors in which the natural processes are accelerated, but can be controlled to make the artwork at least approximately reproducible for the purposes of mass or multiple production. An important feature of the present invention is the control of color changes, as contrasted to the uncontrolled or random weathering or corrosion of prior art metal sculpture.